ESG investing, also known as impact investing, is growing in popularity as value-driven investors seek to move their capital to greener and more sustainable funds. As demand for ESG investing increases, so too does the supply of ESG investment products. In this article, we take a look at the top 10 ESG asset management firms in 2023.
Investors are increasingly looking for asset managers who are committed to responsible investment and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) themes. These investors want to make sure their money is being invested in companies that are operating in a sustainable and responsible way.
In this list, we share the top 10 best esg asset management firms who stand out in responsible investment and ESG. The rankings are based on assessments conducted by UK-based charity ShareAction. ShareAction evaluated each firm by asking them 107 questions, and the scores were used to determine their final rating, which run from AAA through to E.
Now, let’s take a look at the top 10 esg asset management firms who have received the highest ratings for their responsible investment and ESG efforts.
Don’t forget to stick around to the end, where you’ll also find information about the performance of some of the largest global asset management firms, along with the up and comers in the field.
#10 Nordea Asset Management
- Rating: BB
- Assets under management: $310 billion (£225 billion)
- Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
Nordea Asset Management is a subsidiary of Nordea Bank, one of the largest financial services groups in the Nordic region.
The firm scored average in stewardship, climate, and social responsibility, but did not score as well in governance or biodiversity.
#9 SEB Investment Management
- Rating: BB
- Assets under management: $256 billion (£186 billion)
- Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
SEB Investment Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB), one of the largest banks in the Nordic region.
The firm scored average in stewardship, climate, and biodiversity, but not so well in social or governance.
#8 Swedbank Robur
- Rating: BB
- Assets under management: $204 billion (£148 billion)
- Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
Swedbank Robur is a Swedish asset management company founded in 1993. The firm is a subsidiary of Swedbank, one of the largest banks in Sweden.
Swedbank Robur scored fairly well in governance, okay in stewardship and climate, but not great in biodiversity or social.
#7 AXA Investment Managers
- Rating: BBB
- Assets under management: $1048 billion (£759 billion)
- Headquarters: Paris, France
AXA Investment Managers is the asset management arm of global insurance and financial services company AXA. The firm was founded in 1991 and has over 2,600 employees.
AXA Investment Managers scored fairly well in stewardship, okay in climate, but not well in governance, biodiversity, or social.
#6 MN
- Rating: BBB
- Assets under management: $214 billion (£155 billion)
- Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
MN Investment is a Dutch asset management company founded in 2001. The firm is a subsidiary of MN, a Dutch pension fund administrator.
MN Investment scored fairly well in terms of climate, okay in stewardship, but not so well in governance, biodiversity, or social.
#5 Schroders
- Rating: BBB
- Assets under management: $1064 billion (£772 billion)
- Headquarters: London, England
Schroders is a British asset management company founded in 1804. The firm is headquartered in London, England, and has over 5,000 employees.
Schroders scored very well in stewardship and okay in governance and climate, but biodiversity and social suffered poorer scores.
#4 Legal & General Investment Management
- Rating: A
- Assets under management: $2065 billion (£1.5 trillion)
- Headquarters: London, England
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) is a British asset management company founded in 1979.
LGIM did well in stewardship, good in governance, and okay in climate, but it did poorly in biodiversity and social areas.
#3 Aviva Investors
- Rating: A
- Assets under management: $499 billion (£362 billion)
- Headquarters: London, England
Aviva Investors is a British asset management company founded in 1973. The firm is a subsidiary of Aviva plc, a British insurance company.
Aviva Investors scored very well in stewardship, fairly well in governance and climate, but lacked in social with a poorer rating in biodiversity.
#2 BNP Paribas Asset Management
- Rating: A
- Assets under management: $755 billion (£547 billion)
- Headquarters: Paris, France
BNP Paribas Asset Management is a French asset management company founded in 1999. The firm is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, a French multinational banking and financial services company.
BNP Paribas Asset Management scored well in stewardship, biodiversity, and social but dropped in governance and climate.
#1 Robeco
- Rating: AAA
- Assets under management: $215 billion (£156 billion)
- Headquarters: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Robeco is a Dutch asset management company founded in 1929. The company is headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and has over 1,500 employees.
Robeco scored high on governance, stewardship, and social. The lowest score was found in climate and biodiversity.
How the largest asset managers perform
The especially low-rated assets managers are four of the world’s largest: BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity and SSGA.
These four esg asset management firms collectively manage over $23trn (£17.8trn) in assets, which is a third of the total AUM of all the asset managers that ShareAction looked at. This makes their approach to ESG particularly important.
Vanguard has been particularly critical of ESG investing. The asset manager walked out of the Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative at the end of 2022. The firm’s chief executive, Tim Buckley, has claimed that ESG investing “does not have any advantage over broad-based investing.”
However, the evidence suggests otherwise.
The findings of the ShareAction report are a wake-up call for the largest asset managers in the world. These firms have a responsibility to use their power to drive positive change. They must do more to invest in sustainable companies and to divest from companies that are harming the environment and society.
Up and comers
It is also important to recognise the firms that are making noteworthy changes, whilst these firms may not have made the top 10, they have shown a significant increase in their year on year ranking with the aggregator.
| Ranking 2020 | Ranking 2023 | Change | Asset manager | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 13 | 58 | J.P. Morgan Asset Management | B |
| 60 | 9 | 51 | SEB Investment Management | BB |
| 63 | 18 | 45 | T. Rowe Price | B |
| 64 | 20 | 44 | Santander Asset Management | B |
| 59 | 25 | 34 | Deka Investment | CCC |
